The Mole 🥳 • Top Chef editing • CSI Miami • Donald Sutherland • more
Dear newsletter friends,
I had 3:50 a.m. and 4:55 a.m. wake-up calls from our cats this morning and yesterday morning. 🥱
They’re cute but I’m exhausted! So let’s just jump in.
🇨🇦 Top Chef
Why did it seem like Dan won and Danny lost? Answers—and my thoughts about why this isn’t just a Top Chef problem:
News:
đź’° Recaps and a review
A review:
The Real CSI: Miami: weirdly uninterested in forensic science!
Below Deck Med:
The Mole!
My review of the new season (spoiler free)
followed by episode 1-5 recaps (with spoilers!)
episodes 1-3 are up now, and I’m finishing 4 and 5 so they may be there when you read this, or when you hit refresh!
Coming this weekend: My interview with host Ari Shapiro
🔪 True crime
🎧 Listen to The Docket:
Our favorite and most noteworthy true crime with “America” or “American” in the title, plus bedtime listens, aging eyes, and the formalities of mourning.
🗓️ Reality TV premieres
New shows and seasons coming this week include Ryan Serhant’s new Netflix show, and Rachael Ray’s new FYI show, and more.
This week’s docs take a look at breakdancing, which will debut at the Olympics this summer; Diane von Furstenberg; a TikToker who murdered two people; a hospital’s inpatient psychiatric unit; and more.
📱 Have an iPhone? Follow reality blurred on Apple News!
đź’¬ Comments of the week: Top Chef edition
So much great discussion on so many stories. Here are a few of those comments, ones that made laugh, think, or both:
On this story, Suzze wrote:
I watched Kristen on Top Chef, rooted for her to come back from Second Chance Kitchen, and screamed with joy when she won. Loved Fast Foodies. It was so much fun. And when I heard she was chosen as the new Top Chef host I was thrilled. She did a great job, she really made the show this season!
On this story, Melissa wrote:
This is a good reminder that what we see in reality TV is not necessarily reality. I understand why they do it, but I wish they would stop trying to create stories sometimes. This episode of Top Chef is a perfect example of why they don’t need to do that.
On this recap, Angella wrote:
I was very disappointed with this season of Top Chef. The judging felt subpar, and it was not clear how the judges arrived at their decisions, which might be due to the poor editing. The episodes appeared choppy and did not flow well, making it hard to follow the storyline and the contestants' progress. Additionally, the constant profanity from Kristen was off-putting and detracted from the overall viewing experience.
🗞️ Reality TV news
From The Digest, reality blurred’s front page mini-blog:
Survivor 45 jury member Drew Basile is currently doing much better on Jeopardy!; as of Tuesday, he won $91,283 over five games. Jeopardy's website has stats for all his games so far.
The Real World Miami cast member Sarah Becker died last week by suicide at age 52. (If you're depressed, struggling, need help, or just want to talk to someone, please call or text 988 right now.)
Kenya Moore was suspended indefinitely from The Real Housewives of Atlanta, which is now filming. Straight from the A first reported that it was because she "revealed explicit images of fellow cast member Brit Eady performing a sex act." Kenya wrote on social media, "I would never engage in revenge porn, I have never distributed private images or footage of anyone, nor solicited images owned by others to use to threaten or blackmail. I have always been vindicated."
Sarah D. Bunting writes: Attributing its ranking of the 30 best true-crime podcasts to "Staff Author" is pretty bogus of Entertainment Weekly — but Ms. Author came up with a solid list nevertheless: a couple of surprises, a top choice I agree with, and some new listens for the "someday" section of my review list.
🤩 I recommend
The new season of The Mole, however imperfect, if only so we can scream together about what happens in episode two
Mister Rogers Neighborhood, now streaming free on Pluto or on demand
Cue the Sun!: a new, comprehensive history of reality TV
That’s it for this week! I’m off to take a nap.
I haven’t yet decided when/if I’ll send a newsletter next week—Thursday is Independence Day here in the US—but I’ll definitley be publishing more Mole recaps, plus my interview with host Ari Shapiro.
best,
Andy
🌄 This is issue 387 of reality blurred’s weekly newsletter, first sent on 28 June 2024, and it thinks it knows who the mole is